A Rose by Any Other Name
by Robson-C-P
Summary: As Team RNJR try to find help for the injured, they continue to come to terms with the Fall of Beacon, but they are not the only ones regreting past tradegies. [RWBY VOLUME 4 SPOILERS] Written with vaguely platonic Lancaster (Ruby x Jaune) INSPIRED A COMIC SEEN ON PINTREST, SEE AO3 FOR LINK
1. A Rose by Any Other Name

"Hey, does that tree look familiar to anyone?"

The group quickly fell to a halt, as all eye landed on Ruby after her astute observation.

"Oh, hey yeah, it's the duck tree," Nora chirped, "Oh, wait, it's the duck tree…" As the realisation began to dawn on her, Jaune was staring intently at the map.

"Don't be silly, doesn't it look more like a rabbit? Y'know, like the one from the Pumpkin Paul commercials," Ruby responded, a little bit more force in her voice, whilst Jaune mumbled to himself that it was **Pumpkin Pete** as he shifted the map ninety degrees.

"Come on, Ruby, you know that's a duck. See, it's got a beak and everything."

"Nora, that's a rabbit. Those are the ears. Rabbit Ears. A Rabbit Tree."

"Duck Tree."

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Duck Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Duck Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"I say it's a Duck Tree and I say, that's final!" shouted Ruby, unaware of Nora's cunning.

"Perhaps, this would be the best time to take a break to find our bearings before we set off" Ren chimed in, tired of both the redundancy of the argument and the weight of the stretcher and injured man he and Nora were currently carrying.

Despite pouts from both girls, they seemed fine to stop their petty bickering. As Nora and Ren set Qrow's stretcher off to the side, Ruby helped prop the man up against a tree. The long journey had surely taken a lot out of all of them, and the fight with Tyrian the scorpion dude hadn't done them any favours. Especially now that they'd gained extra weight.

Letting out a small yawn of exhaustion, Ruby dropped down next to her Uncle, leaning against his shoulder as she used to do so often what seemed like a lifetime ago. Qrow had been far from a stranger to Ruby and Yang in their younger years, being the type to drop in unannounced every few weeks, much to their dad's chagrin.

"You both look terrible," Jaune chuckled, having let Ren and Nora take over map duty for the moment. Ruby wanted to look mock-offended, play a little with Jaune, and a few weeks ago, if they were still at Beacon, she probably would have. But for now, she mustered a small smirk.

"Thanks. You too." She laughed a lit, and Jaune did too. But it soon died down, both wanting to save energy over needless small talk. Jaune too quickly lowered himself next to Ruby. The silence between them, as Nora giggled and Ren sighed in the background, was not an uncomfortable one, but Ruby couldn't help but feel like there was something she should mention.

She'd seen Jaune watching that video, following Pyrrha's steps. She'd heard it, and memories came flooding back. Watching Pyrrha disappear, the clatter of the tiara on the ground, recognising Cinder the transfer student. Ruby recognised her from the fight during the dance; she knew that she should have recognised her when she bumped into Mercury and Emerald in the dorms. She could of… Should have been able to recognise her, and because she didn't…

"Pyrrha…."

"H-huh?" Jaune stuttered, snapping to attention as he heard the name, "R-Ruby, I…" Peering over at Ruby, he could see that she was angry. Sad. Frustrated. He'd heard what happened on the tower, he knew Ruby had seen something. It had to be something bad if she managed to unleash a secret power and freeze a Grimm at the top of the tower. He wanted to bring it up, to talk to her about it but she just seemed too affected by everything. She couldn't have save Pyrrha, no matter what she might have though. He'd seen that woman once the maiden's power had been transferred. Even Ozpin had lost. But he'd had plenty of opportunities to save her: maybe if he hadn't opened his big mouth when they met outside the canteen, maybe if he'd been more focused on watching the door when she was in the pod, maybe if he'd just been stronger for Pyrrha. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have pushed him away then…

"I know, Ruby. I miss her too."

Perhaps the small talk wouldn't have been as heavy as the silence had, but the tension was cut, albeit briefly as their hands found each other. Each seemed hesitant to make contact, but equally, neither wanted to break apart from the other, as their grip tightened, as if afraid to lose another friend if they let go.

"Ugh… who… who's there…?"

Both Jaune and Ruby jumped as the drowsy voice mumbled the question. Instantly, the contact was broken and Ruby was aside her uncle, staring at him, as Jaune moved behind her. The man's head slowly tilted upwards to see the smiling woman in front of him. Although his vision was blurred, and his hearing slightly dull, there was no mistaking her.

"…cle Qrow…?"

Suddenly, the man embraced the girl in front of him very tightly, with Ruby letting out a small squeak of surprise.

"…you came back."

"Huh? Came… back?" Ruby mumbled, confused.

"…I'm so sorry."

"…Qrow, what are you apologising for?"

"Sorry for… for everything. For my bad luck. For my alcoholism. I ran. I had to run and…. I couldn't even save them. Yang… Ruby…"

"Ruby, who is he talking to?" Jaune whispered to the girl, just as puzzled by the older man's words as she was, but it fell on deaf ears. The older man began tearing up, his eyes looking off into the distance.

"But I'm here now…. and I want you to know… I love you, Summer."

"Summer? Ruby, who is he tal-"

"Ok, Unc… Qrow, it's time for a little nap. Just rest…"

"Okay, but when I wake up, I'd like to… see… your cookies…"

"C-count on it" Ruby whimpered through her tears, shifting her uncle's sleeping frame back against the tree, before turning to Jaune as she wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve.

"Ruby, what's going on? Who-?"

"It's my mom. Summer is… my dead mom."

"Oh." The noise was all Jaune could manage at the revelation. Ruby smiled. He didn't need to say anything.

The lull in voices seemed to be the queue for Nora to come bounding over with Ren, but both seemed to stop short of the pair. "Hey, are you two okay? You look rough…" Ruby giggled a little, bringing a smile to Jaune's face.

"Thanks. You too."

Giggles turned to snorts of laughter, with Jaune quickly joining in. With a brief exchange of looks between the two who had obviously missed something funny, they smiled too.

Jaune was the first to rise to his feet, offering Ruby a hand as she looked back over to him. With a small yank, the duo was standing, as Nora and Ren helped shift the injured figure back onto the stretcher.

With a brief moment to catch their breath, the group was back on their journey with a spring in their step once again. As they passed the familiar tree, and disappeared out of sight, the white-hooded figure smiled as she faded.


	2. A Rose Just As Sweet

"…ss Rose, your unc… awake now…"

"…Ruby? Hey, Ruby? Are you…?"

Jaune peered over at the hooded figure next to him, slumped against the wall, cloak used as an impromptu blanket. The four of them had been crowded into a fairly small waiting room, in a wing just off the main building, awaiting news on the injured guardian.

All had been well since their arrival, and with little to no news in the past hour or two, very little apart from sitting around had happened; a result of the group's extensive fatigue, both physically and mentally. With Qrow's awakening however, the time to act had come, so Jaune subtly jabbed his elbow into the sleeping girl's ribs.

"WAAAH! What's- Who's-," Ruby shrieked, bolting upright, becoming further entangled in her cloak and stumbling towards the bench in front. As quick as ever, Jaune jumped up to grab her, to prevent her tripping over the low obstacle, but was instead pulled down with her, with a resounding thump as they hit the floor.

"Uwaa… Jaune, why are on the floor?"

Ruby, now awake and aware of their uncomfortable position, shifted to a kneeling position, rubbing her head. Jaune seemed to have taken the fall the worst of the two, face firmly planted into the floor as his back and rear continued to arch in the air.

"You tripped then I tripped trying to save you… remind me not to do that again." Jaune grumbled, strand straight back up. Quickly dusting himself off, he looked over to the girl who'd caused this whole mess in the first place but appeared to be about as remorseful as ever with a small smirk adorning her face.

"My hero…"

Ruby extended a hand, which Jaune used to pull her back up. Together, they both looked over at the nurse who was trying to hide a small giggle, and promptly looked away, faces reddening in embarrassment.

"My apologies. Your uncle is now awake, Miss Rose. He is, however, still suffering hallucinatory symptoms as his body removes the last traces of the venom his assailant injected into his bloodstream, so take precautions not to excite the patient too much." With a kind, and perhaps knowing, smile, the nurse disappeared from sight down one of the many long corridors. Ruby smiled back, before turning to Jaune.

"Hey, Jaune. About Uncle Qrow's stories-"

"That can wait. For now, let's just make sure he's okay."

Jaune led the way to Qrow's temporary accommodation, moving to hold the door open for Ruby as she entered. He quietly shut the door to the room behind him as Ruby made her way to the bedside, only to be greeting with a rather dopey smile and slightly unfocused eyes.

"Hi, Uncle Qrow. Uh, how're you doing?" the girl asked, a mixture of worry and relief giving her tone a slight edge. The bedridden man continued to look at her, his only reaction being the fading of his smile. Once it was gone, he face returned to the more serious expression Ruby was used to seeing these past few days.

"I'd have been better if they'd let me keep my flask…" Qrow sneered, "I bet they think they're being funny, telling me the venom wouldn't acted so quickly if my liver were healthier…"

Ruby and Jaune, quietly noticing he'd avoided the question, were unsure of how to react, silently deciding to let the older man ramble a little bit longer, as he turned to face them once again.

"The whole mess with Tyrian… I should have intercepted him far before he did anything," Qrow monologued, berating himself for his own self-judged ineptitude, "Even with what happened, I still should have been able to beat him before anyone else had to get involved…"

Ruby's mood quickly shifted, seeing her uncle be so hard on himself. "I told you. It was my fight too. I couldn't stand by and let my friends get hurt, especially if that Tyrian guy was coming after me. I w-want to protect everybody, and I didn't want anybody to get hurt because of me, and I even failed at that!"

Jaune could see the tears building in the corners of Ruby's eyes, knowing she was being just as hard on herself as Qrow was. The tears were blurring her vision, but as she continued to look at the older man's face, a soft smile crept onto it.

"Kid, you didn't fail. You held your own. I'm proud of you kiddo. I'm sure Tai would have been too. You know how much he cherishes you," The older man held his arms out, and Ruby immediately settled into his embrace, "Heck, even Raven would have been proud. I bet you could have given her a run for her money, too."

The name took both the hunters-in-training off-guard. Something about what Qrow was saying didn't make sense. They briefly exchanged a look, as the bedridden man hummed quietly to himself, with Jaune ready to the girl ask a few clarifying questions.

"Raven…? Is that his sist-?"

"Yes, she's- She's Yang's mom. My step-mom. She- She ran. Away from my dad. Away from Uncle Qrow. I haven't seen her since-"

"The night we first fought Salem's goons…" Qrow interjected, "She was so determined to do something, especially when she found out that they were targeting you." The older man's stare was now directly on Ruby, brows furrowed and a look of disgust on his face.

"Me?"

"Silver Eyes, remember? The potential for greatness and the rest of that shtick that Ozpin keeps going on about… except he never tells us just what it means for Salem's plan."

"Uncle Qrow. I promise you, we're going to do whatever it takes. As soon as you get discharged, we'll go to Haven's headmaster and-"

"I know, kiddo. It's just… I can't lose you. Tai can't lose you. And Raven… she'll be so far gone only a miracle would bring her back, and Oum knows that's not going to happen while I'm still around. I don't want to see you get hurt… or worse. I'm sorry that I didn't understand, p-please don't push me away again…"

Ruby, confusion growing by the second as just how much her uncle was opening up about his sister, remained steadfast in the hug with her uncle. Jaune, however, had begun to understand just a little bit.

"So you just wanted to protect her, huh? The path to her destiny set out in front of her, and all you could do was just hope… hope you could protect her. Funny, sounds familiar…"

Breaking away from her uncle for a moment, Ruby gave Jaune a sympathetic look as she took began to understand where the conversation was going again.

"I-I…" Qrow murmured, age and weariness showing on his usually youthful features. Ruby could feel the weakness in the embrace as her uncle fought his exhaustion. "Just let me know you're okay… Summer, please don't-"

With a wry smile, Ruby recalled everything she could about her mother and the far-too-few bedtimes they'd shared together, trying to muster the most motherly voice she could manage.

"Shhh. Qrow, I'm fine. Just… rest now, you've had a long journey… I'll be here when you wake up."

With a groan of satisfaction, the slumbering body slowly slid sideways towards Ruby, leaning up against the smiling girl, humming a sweet tune as she continued to remember her mother. Jaune could see a small tear welling up in the corner of her closed eyes, but this time, he knew it was from happiness.

As Jaune quietly left the room, the humming faded to be replaced by the sound of light sleeping. Ruby's eyes crept open, scanning the room briefly before they fell upon a pen and paper on the desk.

"Good Night, Uncle Qrow. I just need to let some people know that I… we're okay."


End file.
